Bradfieldian John Etheridge (C 61-65) was at Bradfield in Army House from September 1961 to 1965. He came to Bradfield as a Scholar but was not keen on the academic side of life and took up the guitar while at the college for enjoyment. He played Basketball and Chess at Bradfield and was keen on music. He was co-founder of the Blues Society in summer 1965 with Nicholas Spencer (F 61-65) founded on appreciation and unmitigated enthusiasm for subjects ranging from primitive Blues to sophisticated Jazz and sang in the Choir from 1961-62.

Interviewed by Bradfieldian contemporary and journalist Nick Clarke (E 61-66) for the Bradfield magazine back in Autumn 1997, Nick suggested to John that he was a radical figure, a rebel with long hair and an authority-defying cause. John remembers differently that “It was just that I kept falling foul of the system.” The headmaster once wrote on his end of term report “If he wants to learn to play the guitar, why doesn’t he learn to play it properly?” This comment summed up the disjunction between School and the small group of dissidents to whom John, apparently unknowingly, belonged. Little did anyone realise the talent which was being nurtured from those Bradfield days.

The son of two doctors, John came to Bradfield from Boxgrove Prep School with many school friends. He was bright and particularly keen on Classics and by the end of his first year was playing Under-14 cricket. After his O’ levels John and his Housemaster John Swinbank’s relationship soured when John refused to be confirmed. In 1963 John and friends Nick Prater (F 61-65) and Chris Johnstone (F 61-64) formed a group which he thinks was called the Savages who were at the leading edge of the 60’s youth revolution.

Despite all the difficulties, John actively enjoyed many aspects of school-life. Even though he took no formal part in the school’s music curriculum (declining classical guitar lessons with a teacher), it was at Bradfield that his interest in music was first seriously engaged. His band were later joined by Nick Spencer and Tom Mursell (B 59-63) and allowed to play before films were shown in Big School and John remembers his first ever public performance when they were invited to appear at Whitchurch Fete.

John Coldstream (E 61-66) said of him: “His career has been nothing short of brilliant.  I remember with fondness its beginnings in Big School. No one was in any doubt about a potential star being born.”

After Bradfield John went on to study at Essex University which he described at the time as “a radical place” and around this time had recruited Martin Amis to his band. It was only much later, with the encouragement of such luminaries as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix that John decided to make a living out of his acoustic guitar. Back in 1997, John mused with a wry smile to Nick Clarke that “If it hadn’t been for Bradfield and if they’d understood me a bit better – I might have been a doctor instead.” In the circumstances, this sounded like an expression of gratitude, given the success as a performer he enjoys today!

Since he left Bradfield John has been a regular visitor and performed at the college many times. He is a popular performer on the stage in Greeker and played an important part in the Bradfield 175 Gala in June 2025.